Volume 68
Modeling Lionfish Management Strategies on the West Florida Shelf
Authors
Bogdanoff, A., S. Binion-Rock, K. Dahl, J. Granneman, H. Harris, J. Mohan, M. Rudd, M. Swenarton, R. Ahrens, M. Allen, D. Chagaris, J. Morris, and W. Patterson Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2015
Pages: 187 - 189
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty eigth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Panama City
Country: Panama
Abstract
Invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) threaten to alter marine food webs and reduce fish stocks throughout the western Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. Spearfishing and targeted removals have been the primary method for controlling populations and mitigating impacts. Due to a variety of constraints, these efforts have only been effective at local scales (i.e., specific reefs). Policy options for controlling lionfish at larger, potentially basin-wide scales have yet to be explored. Trophic dynamic models, such as Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE), can be used to assess ecosystem-scale impacts stemming from invasive species, and to explore management strategies for controlling populations. We updated an existing EwE model of the West Florida Shelf (WFS) marine ecosystem to include lionfish.